Emerald Skies

[Hiccup]

(ooc: I... don't even know. It was the first title that came to mind. |D Anyway, the date is July 25th. Open only to Rapunzel and Hiccup.)

So, it had come to this. All his time on the island hadn't made anything more clear, and this fact was bothering the young Viking. There was Astrid, of course, and there was Merida. The two were both his friends. Both were different, and yet seemed similar in some regards. Meeting Merida just seemed to have made things more confusing for him, though. Hiccup had no idea what he was doing anymore. On the one hand, it was pretty much common knowledge that he and Astrid were a couple of sorts back home. On the other hand, Merida was a friend that he could talk to and, although they hadn't talked frequently, he did like her.

Why are you even worrying about any of this? You came out this far to forget all that.

Ah... right. The reason he had strayed so far from the mansion and was walking toward the twilight view. One reason was that he wanted to know what was so special about it, but the main reason was that he wanted to clear his head. Clearly, that hadn't worked. He groaned softly before coming to a stop near a large tree and leaning against it. Merida, Astrid... what did it matter anymore? He just wanted things to be clear.

"Why did things have to get so complicated?" Hiccup wondered out loud. Absentmindedly, he kicked aside a rock and sort of let himself sag a tiny bit. He didn't even know where that rock was going. For all he knew it could have gone and hit someone that was coming to join him, in which case he'd owe an apology. Or... it could have gone off to the side to be forgotten. Whatever happened, he just wanted to talk to someone. Thinking on his own clearly wasn't getting him anywhere.

[Rapunzel]

Rapunzel eagerly made her way to the Twilight View. It was supposed to be spectacular, a beautiful sight. So what if it was normally made for couples. Couldn't a single woman watch a sunset? Emerald eyes wandered through the forest. She was close to the trail but not quite on it. She was skipping, carefully maneuvering barefoot through the grass. The sun had yet to make it's way to the horizon, giving her some time to reach the cliff. Actually it was coming right into view.

Spontaneously an unknown pressure found its way onto her foot and she nearly tripped. Emerald eyes flashed to the rock then around her, shocked. Her eyes stopped on a mop of reddish brown hair. She was amazed to see someone else up at the view. Or well, some one else alone. He seemed sad, not all well. His body sagging against a tree. Carefully Rapunzel made her way towards him, long haired trailing behind her. She cleared her throat to warn the boy of her coming.

"Uhm... hey there," she attempted emerald eyes looking over the boy for a cause of distress. He just looked sad, no sight of physical injury. "You look kinda sad. A penny for your thoughts?"

[Hiccup]

At least Rapunzel had had the decency to warn him that she was there. If she hadn't, he probably would have had some sort of spaz attack right then and there and fallen over onto the ground. This wasn't the case, though, and instead he looked up to meet the blonde's gaze. At least someone cared. He didn't know what he had been expecting wandering so far from the mansion on his own, but whatever he had expected he had gotten something in return. That at least made him feel a little better.

"The short version comes down to me wondering why things have gotten so complicated for me recently." Hiccup said. He knew that wouldn't explain the situation fully, so he decided to elaborate a tiny bit. "This whole love game... it's kind of worrying me, I guess. Back home I had this friend - a girl - that I thought I was really close to, but then I got brought here. So I meet this other girl, then the first girl shows up... it's a mess." he explained. A hot mess, really. How was he supposed to deal with it without his brain melting into a puddle of mush?

[Rapunzel]

The blonde instantly felt sorry for the boy. He was obviously distressed. It appeared the island not only brought people together it might tear them apart. Sympathy filled her large green eyes while looking at the teen. She didn't know how she was to help him she had just as little, maybe even less by the looks of it, experience in the love department. However she did move closer and stood beside the boy looking over the cliff.

"Wow. That... sucks. I'm sorry. But I guess life isn't clean, or neat or nice. Also love is even uglier." Rapunzel nodded, sliding down to sit on her bottom. She patted the ground beside her to motion for the boy to sit down. "I'm Rapunzel by the way. I'm sorry us girls have to be so difficult." She added trying to add a humorous note to the conversation. She ran a hand through her hair, stopping at the base of her neck and holding her arm there. A shy smile lifted her lips and she leaned closer to the teen.

"So tell me about it. I'm all ears and I think we've got plenty of time and no one else is here. I promise to keep my lips sealed." She motioned to her lips, zipping them shut, locking them, and throwing away the key. Ironic.

[Hiccup]

Finally sliding down into a sitting position, something he must have been quite grateful for since just sagging against the tree was kind of uncomfortable, Hiccup laughed a tiny bit in response to Rapunzel's apology. "It's not your fault. I think it's just more proof that the universe is trying to tell me I can't have nice things without working for them." he said. Maybe that was the case. He hadn't been able to befriend Toothless or earn respect from the rest of his tribe without first working for it. "And... I'm Hiccup. It's nice to meet you." he said. This time, he didn't even stop to think that she might find his name odd. Her name was rather strange itself.

Now he had the choice to continue talking about his problems or just sit there in silence for a bit. However, the problem at hand was continuing to eat away at his mind so that keeping silent wasn't much of an option. Besides, he did appreciate the offer of her listening to his troubles. At length, Hiccup nodded a little. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to someone about it. It's been bothering me for a while, anyway." Hiccup stated.

Where did he even start? Back to his roots, or just to the point where he and Astrid had essentially confirmed their relationship? Probably the latter. It made for a much cleaner, less lengthy explanation. Yes... that seemed like the best point to start.

"So, back home I had this crush on this girl named Astrid. She didn't really think much of me, at least I didn't think she did, but my 'way with dragons' got her attention. I guess she thought I was competition, so she sought me out and that led to me unintentionally taking her on a romantic flight with my dragon companion. Some crazy things went down after that night." Hiccup's eyes strayed to his prosthetic for a beat before returning to Rapunzel. It almost felt like it had been an eternity since the injury in question had happened.

"Anyway, the long and the short of that part of this tale is I got pretty banged up in the process of saving my island. After that, Astrid and I pretty much started our relationship. Cut to... however long it's been, and I get this letter inviting me here with the key." Hiccup sighed. That stupid letter. If he hadn't gotten it, maybe none of this would be happening right then. "Astrid didn't get invited, at least I didn't think she did, so I was on my own here. I ended up meeting the next girl, Merida, a few days after I came to the island. ...And then Astrid showed up."

Another sigh. Complicated as the situation had become, Hiccup almost couldn't believe some of it. How had he let things get so out of hand?

"So now it feels like I'm caught in the middle. I don't even know what I'm supposed to feel anymore, especially since I want to be friends with both Merida and Astrid."

[Rapunzel]

Rapunzel's eyes drifted to Hiccup's prosthetic. Crazy things indeed. The young boy seemed to have quite the crisis.Especially at such a young age! Analyzing the little situation further the girls seemed to be two stereotypes. The girl next door a.k.a. Astrid, and the new girl a.k.a. Merida. The poor teen did have a difficult choice it seemed. It seemed the girl next door had been with him all his life yet hadn't been with him until Hiccup had taken matters. Then again he'd liked her and she hadn't liked him, until again, matters. Then there was the letter about love, Astrid not getting it must have brought some serious doubts as well as her delayed entrance.

Merida was the new, different girl. Apparently nice and friendly towards Hiccup faster than Astrid. Hiccup was obviously torn, ini mini miny mo wouldn't cut it neither would a stranger picking a girl randomly out of the two. She gave a slightly audible sigh and gave Hiccup up what was supposed to be a somewhat comforting nudge.

"Well it's nice to meet you Hiccup and you've sure got a problem. Not like you didn't already know that." She pointed out nodding her head slightly. "And who says you can't be friends with both of them until you get your feelings all sorted out? If they're your friends they've got to understand you can have more than one friend." Rapunzel continued to encourage. "And eventually you'll find out who you have feelings for. After all you're only so young you still got stuff to see, think, feel. Though a little warning... everyone's patience can only run so far and last so long." She fixed the her emerald eyes to Hiccup's green gaze. "Friends will always last but I mean romantic feelings will only last so long before getting frustrated. Then again what should I know? I'm just thinking this and it... feels right to say."

Rapunzel then leaned back slightly resting a shoulder on the tree and looking up at the leafy foliage above. The sun filtering through small, ever moving gaps or lighting the thinnest clusters. A thought suddenly sprung to her head. "I hope I'm not prying Hiccup... but I've got this question in my head..." She looked away in thought then turned back to the teen.

"If you liked this Astrid girl before and finally got her... why'd you leave? If you were starting a relationship... why'd you come here?" The blonde's emerald eyes held eye contact, completely fixated on Hiccup's reaction. "I mean it's only so long before she thinks of the question herself, and I'm wondering if you've ever thought of it either?"

[Hiccup]

"Probably because I didn't get what was going on."

That probably sounded dumb, but it was the truth. He hadn't understood what the letter meant and had assumed Astrid would come along too. When she hadn't, and when Merida had shown up... well, the boy had grown confused. "I thought Astrid would be coming along, thought the game would be simple, but evidently I'm a moron." he said. Even though he was putting himself down, he had to laugh just a little. He thought it did sound a little amusing at the very least. Maybe the person in charge of the game had set it up just so things would get confusing on his end.

"So when she didn't show up, I kind of started to wonder if maybe we'd been wrong about our feelings. But then she did show up and... ugh. I'm confused, as if you couldn't tell." Head met hand, and for a few beats Hiccup didn't move. He must have sounded like such a moron right then, but at least he was able to vent out his frustrations on the matter to someone willing to listen and someone that wouldn't punch him in the shoulder for being stupid. He finally did move his hand from his head and shook his head a little.

"Sorry... I probably sound really stupid right now."

[Rapunzel]

"Not stupid. Confused. " Rapunzel smiled reassuringly. "But if everything was going so well why would you both have to go?" Rapunzel shrugged, as if throwing the question offhandedly. Just her thoughts blurting out anyway. It seemed Hiccup was confused, confused beyond what should be happening. If this island had never come up maybe Hiccup and the girl next door would have lived happily ever after. Or maybe he would've needed someone like Merida?

"I'm really sorry you've got all of this on your mind. It's gotta suck. I mean this island kinda puts a lot more pressure than really necessary huh?" Rapunzel pressed. It seemed everyone here had their soul mate somewhere on the island. A very stressful, frustrating position when you aren't sure who they are. The sole purpose of the island being to find that one person. Rapunzel had yet to feel said effects though, she was purely happy to be out of her tower. New sights, sounds, smells, tastes, creatures and people were astounding. She was surprised she hadn't gone into sensory overload. While she was content with the very air she breathed, Hiccup had a more pressing, serious dilemma.

"Well at least you have them both as friends right now. And as far as I can tell they have no animosity between one another. At least you haven't lead me to believe that. As long as you guys are friends you're still together. That's good... right?"

[Hiccup]

"That's a good point..." Hiccup finally managed to say. So far it didn't seem like Merida and Astrid were against one another, so maybe it would work out okay after all. On the other hand, though, they had only been together once during their whole stay on the island as far as Hiccup knew. What if, during their next meeting, they didn't get along so well? "I mean, what's the worst that could happen from them and me all being friends?" he asked. Rhetorical question aside, he did like the idea. Already he was beginning to feel a little better.

"...Thanks. You know, for listening to me vent. I don't think very many other people would have stopped to listen." he said. He owed her his thanks, at the very least. How often did a complete stranger stop by to find out if someone was okay when they were so confused, anyway? If Toothless were there, Hiccup definitely would have offered to take Rapunzel out flying as his own way of showing her his thanks... but it was almost a good thing that his dragon friend wasn't there. Who knew how Astrid might have taken it if she figured out he wanted to take someone flying when that had been their thing?

[Rapunzel]

Rapunzel smiled as Hiccup agreed. She could almost feel his anxiety ease up. That was good. Actually that was great. She'd helped somebody with a problem without saying anything stupid! Rapunzel bit her bottom lip at his rhetorical question. No need to answer. After all that was the purpose of rhetorical questions. She felt somewhat accomplished at having helped the teen somewhat. He seemed nice to bad he had to deal with such issues. At his thanks the blonde merely shrugged.

"Well I couldn't really pretend you weren't there. That would be rude. And I'm sure there are tons of people willing to listen. You just haven't met them yet." Rapunzel smiled back brightly. "I'm just glad to have helped you with what little advice I have." Rapunzel continued. After a little bit, Rapunzel decided to change the topic. "So Hiccup tell me about yourself. Friends, home, likes? " She really liked the teen. To the blonde she already considered him a friend. He'd poured out to her, a stranger. With that the girl felt some sort of bond had been formed. She wasn't the type to have an event like this and forget like it ever happened the next day.

(crap post is crap xD)

[Hiccup]

She's probably right. Then again, what do you expect when you grew up the black sheep of the tribe?

No need to bring that up as the topic shifted to him talking about his history. That was easy enough, and now he wouldn't have to touch upon the subject of Astrid since he had already vented about that and Merida. "Well, let's see. I come from this island known as Berk, live with my dad, and have a handful of friends. Likes? Uh... well, I like drawing. And hanging out with my best bud Toothless. Oh, and flying. But I guess that came with befriending Toothless." Hiccup said. ...It also came with his injuring Toothless that ultimately led to them getting to know each other, but that was a minor detail.

"There really isn't all that much to say about me. I wouldn't say I'm average, especially with the whole dragon riding thing, but I'm not exactly the most interesting man in the universe either." he said, shrugging a little as he finished. It was the truth, though. He'd never really thought of himself as particularly interesting. Maybe there was some kind of story for his new friend to tell, though.

"What about you? I've been doing most of the talking up until now, so why not tell me about yourself?"

[Rapunzel]

Rapunzel's eyes widened noticeably as she put two and two together. This teen rode dragons. She was shocked for a second. That just didn't happen everyday. He said it so offhandedly as well. It was apparently an everyday thing. The world did have a lot more to offer. "Wow. I'd say riding dragons and being friends with one is pretty interesting. Maybe I'm just a biased opinion but... wow." Rapunzel blinked a few times, trying to conjure up an image of what said dragon would look like. She could only come up with the most unoriginal version. At the mention of drawing, her eyes brightened. "I think we've got that in common. I love painting."

However when Hiccup asked about her life Rapunzel shied. Trying to think of the way to tell the boy, something she owed him for opening up to her, but in the least oddest way possible. "Uhm... well I lived with my mother. In a tower in the middle of a forest I think. And I've lived in the tower since I was little. Andneverleftuntilnow." She added the last part quickly, looking away and up at the trees. It seemed like it was just a minor little detail. He rode dragons.... she stayed in a tower and covered every inch of wall space with paintings. "And well, never cut my hair as you can tell." She added with a soft laugh. She didn't really dwell as to why for some obvious reasons. Opening up about having long hair that could heal and keep one young forever wasn't something one mentioned everyday.